Madness Dawnings
by devil-dasza-darklight
Summary: Something's very wrong with the Planet...
1. Default Chapter

Quit.  
  
Cloud has defeated the Fallen Angel, Jenova. All that remains is to obliterate Meteor using Holy. Cloud has just been saved from oblivion by Spirit poisoning, with a helpful hand from Tifa. The Highwind is ready for take off as the Cave falls in upon itself. The group fly up the pathway with all the monsters in pursuit, albeit with a common goal: survival.  
  
Cloud feels something, clutching at his heart and tearing him back down, so he will never escape. Cloud knows what it is, and his blood floods with adrenaline as he comprehends the task that is, as yet, unfinished; "Jenova. Is. Still. Alive." He mutters. He feels it, pulling him, the last of Jenova, to face the One who threatens the very thought-core of the Planet.  
  
Cloud is as ready as he'll ever be. [I]I hope it's enough.[/I] His Spirit is being pulled into the Abyss that is Sephiroth's abode now.  
  
As Cloud races to meet his fate, Sephiroth ponders this turn of events. [I]I[/I] will [I]destroy utterly this puny thing that was borne out of ME![/I] He understands what's at stake here. This is it. The unadulterated battle that will decide the path of the Universe. On the one hand, comes the unpredictability of the races known as animalkind; On the other, oblivious monotony of the gods, and it all comes down to menial things: the way the wind blows, the roll of a dice, the thought of a split-second.  
  
Both are tired. They want it all to be over. For better or for worse. The health of the universe is held in the palm of one, the scales of the Lord of Change in the other. There will be a new god today, irrelevant of who wins. That is for certain. Or will it be the last Cetra, Aeris who wins the war?  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Cloud reaches his destination in good time, for the Abyss is no-man's land: The abode is well-furnished for an empty space. Walled in by swords of all shapes and sizes, cups with many purposes, rods so powerful that even one could rend the skies, and discs which render the wielder invulnerable, it was the perfect battlefield for the two greatest warriors of all known time; the Crisis from the Sky and the SOLDIER with no number, the failed experiments which could doom the Planet.  
  
[B]It is time. Are you ready?[/B] the voice of Sephiroth calls, enhanced by the Abyss' static fluctuation. He is preparing for Supernova Strike, far more potent than even Omnislash.  
  
[I]I am ready for you, Sephiroth. I know your weaknesses, as you know mine. I will KILL YOU![/I] I must, for I want to be with Tifa, when all is said and done. Aeris, I thank you for releasing me from my fears.  
  
The battle began. It was not of a physical nature, even though the people were real. It was of a spiritual nature. Cloud was, at first, swarmed by the anger radiating from the figure before him. He fell, as the energy in Sephiroth was building...who was nearly ready to unleash Supernova Strike. [I]I have to get Omnislash before he's ready![/I] Cloud thought. He prayed...and felt the anger rising within him. He thought of Aeris, his one true love, and the way Sephiroth butchered her.  
  
Sephiroth was in ready stance. [I]Must...try...harder!!![/I] Cloud thought. Cloud felt the energy needed to sustain himself in the Abyss drain...  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Ifrit sensed the Battle going on, and was impelled to stop it. [B]:What is going on? The worlds are being sundered by the energies at work! I have to stop this!:[/B] he spoke to himself.  
  
He changed his presence so that he could enter the Lifestream. He stopped being a Summon Beast, and became just another soul to be consumed. Then he entered...and saw.  
  
He recognised them both: Sephiroth, the Fallen Angel, and Cloud Strife, the failed experiment. Cloud had begun his ultimate Limit, Omnislash. He struck; left right left, jump, down, right, up-right left down-right, left right left up, down. Cloud was charging up for his last move...he leapt.  
  
Ifrit yelled, [B]:STOP!!! What do you think you're doing? You will destroy utterly the universes! Are you insane?:[/B] His eyes blazed with fury, and he looked like he could do a million Hellfires consecutively. He took a few deep blazes, and calmed enough for rational thought. [B]:Well then, I see that you are both god material...However, you are more likely to abuse that power, Cloud Strife.:[/B]  
  
[I]ME? Why?[/I] enquired Cloud.  
  
[B]:Because you lost a loved one to Sephiroth, and you will be most easily corrupted by the power involved. Come with me, Sephiroth.:[/B] Sephiroth obliged Ifrit, afraid that he'd be turned into ashes.  
  
* * * * * * * * 


	2. Avatars of Flaw

Avatars of Flaw.  
  
Sephiroth awoke after his arduous battle with Cloud. He was disoriented by the fact that there was nothing but darkness. [I]What's happened? Where am I? Have I gone blind?[/I], he thought.  
  
[B]:No.:[/B]A fierce, passionate voice called to him through the blackness. It seemed as if it was [I]inside[/I] his head. Sephiroth felt a fiery presence nearby.[B][colour=red]:You are now one of us. You had made the grave mistake of desiring power for your own ends. Now you must pay.:[/colour][/B]  
  
[I]What? I have done no such thing![/I] Sephiroth thought as he grimaced in anger. He spoke, though it only came through the darkness as a whisper, even when yelling. "What do you mean, pay? How do you want me to atone for my errors?"  
  
Another voice entered the fray, a cold, reasoned voice. The presence of this one was chilled, though not blunted; [U][colour=blue]*He is the one needed to show that the Fers has worked. He must be made one of us and know what he has to do to save those he once hated.* [/colour][/U]  
  
Sephiroth's eyes were adjusting to the darkness by now, and so, he was beginning to see all that was surrounding him. He was shocked that, despite the darkness, there was a myriad of colours, creating an eddy here, a draught there, and so on. "Hated? I did not hate Cloud and his company. At least, not for wanting to survive. My other part, called Jenova, did. He wanted to become a god. He is no more for that. I will survive that.oh, I don't know, monster best describes it. I just hope I'm not like him in the end."  
  
A lulling, seductive voice projected through the dark.[I][colour=yellow]:*He may yet be a good one amongst us. We cannot tell, for he made the same mistakes we did, long ago in other universes*:[/colour][/I] This one was the first person, if she could be called that, he'd seen since he'd risen. He recognised who it was instantly: the translucent blue hue, the two long braids, the piercing blue eyes, the feeling of a chill as she approached Sephiroth. "Shiva." He breathed. The voice that came was the same as the one he had heard a moment earlier. "Yes, my child. I am here to take care of you while you make the shift." "The shift?" "It is where the body is changed into a presence; where you become a god. There is no heaven, for that implies there was a Creator, and the Creator would have been a god, the Lord of the Gods. We would have sensed It were it so."  
  
He thought about this, and a question came into his head. "What do you know about the Cetra?" "I know that the dead part of you was once of them. Jenova was one of the first, when this universe was still young. She was, yes, a fallen angel in the sense that she wanted power before she was ready for it. She poisoned the Cetra, turned them into monsters, like the Schizo. This was so that she would not have to share the power of the Promised Land. "However, she met her match in one called Cloud Gainsborough." [I]Was she..?[/I] was the thought that formed in his mind. "Yes Aeris was the descendant of Cloud. Why do you think Jenova wanted her dead?" "Well, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't in control of my actions, but I wouldn't change a thing." "Oh?" "Well, if everything hadn't happened as it did, then I wouldn't be here, regretting and learning from it, no?" "Good point." "Well then, how long has this 'shift' got to go?" "It's done." [I]What?[/I] "Hm?" "It takes three millenia to complete the shift in planetary terms. Time here is much slower than down on the Planet you inhabited, therefore, while only a few minutes here have been, three thousand years have passed down there. Your training is complete." Sephiroth eyed Shiva with mistrust. "How do you know I won't abuse the power you've just given me?" Shiva smiled, and it chilled Sephiroth to the bone. "Trust me. I have been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and all that." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "What's a T-shirt?" "Something they wear on their torsos." Sephiroth nodded in approval. "Ah! I see." [I]How's Midgar?[/I] As if in response to Sephiroth's thought, three dragons appeared. The dragons looked as though they were replicas in different sizes. The smallest had batlike wings, and his coat was of a purer black than the original dark. His eyes had a shielding quality to them, and the appearance of being able to see into a soul. The middle one had similar qualities to the smallest, but his coat was of a reddish-brown colour, and his head was of a more ornate appearance. The largest, whom he recognised immediately as Bahamut ZERO, had a grey tone to his coat, and a darkly- reasoned, fierce tone to his body. The larget spoke first. "It is in good hands. Vincent Valentine, your uncle (though he didn't know it), is currently in charge of Neo-Midgar, and he rules with a just hand, for nothing can fool him. He is still torturing himself for letting you exist." Sephiroth responded with careful preparation. "I understand his logic. If he'd have intervened, then I could not have killed his love OR his sister." "You are truly wise of your actions, godling. I commend you." Sephiroth blushed as far as a presence could. "Why, thank you! But, why?" Bahamut spoke. "Because you know what it means to lose someone. We are the Bahamut brothers, the first of the gods. We were the first to be converted. A new danger is coming."  
  
* * * * * * * * * 


End file.
